Back in January, I wrote one of my first posts for this blog – titled “Un novo ano, um novo desafio” [a new year, a new challenge] – about how I wanted to start learning Portuguese. Why? Because I was then planning to conduct fieldwork in Brazil, in the Summer of 2014. Things since then… Read More Tropical Tribulations, “Pilot Episode”: Airport Ponderings

Upon first describing my research—on tuberculosis (TB) control in China—I’m generally met with glassy stares or feigned interest. When people ARE instantly captured, I get the feeling that much of it comes out of an anxious hypochondria that’s more about themselves than anything that I have to say. A bit of an exaggeration, okay, but… Read More In Our Lifetime?: World Tuberculosis Day 2013

Three Minutes to Change the World “Fast paced” is practically the antithese of “Grad School.” When you think about explaining your research, doing it quickly is rarely part of the experience. Most of us are prone to panic attacks when our presentations are limited to 45 minutes, discounting the question period as optional. So what do you… Read More Event: McGill Gets Inspired by TED-Talks

My search for an optimal flow of searching, sorting, storing, organizing, reading and annotating papers continue. The current process is still a bit convoluted (and I’m not alone!), but it kind of works. First of all, I am glad to have moved completely to a digital configuration. This summer the entire floor where my office… Read More EndNote for the iPad: not ready for prime time

Scene One: Christmas Light Bulb I knew I wanted to write a blog post about spending the holidays in China, but couldn’t find a thread to tie my thoughts and experiences together. China, being an atheist state (opiate of the masses and all), does not officially celebrate Christmas. This has not, however, stopped the incursion… Read More A Kunming Carole: Reflections on the Holidays in Five Scenes

Well, it’s been a while since I last wrote in this blog. Probably because my to-do list was full, but then by looking at recent posts from my fellow Grad Life bloggers, I can see my summer was not that original: Erik and Crystal also gave us their insights about doing fieldwork and attending academic conferences. While… Read More Another kind of fieldwork…

Ah, the joys of field research. Driving out under a blue sky through the rolling hills of the Eastern townships, it’s hard to think of a better way to spend a work day. It’s the many days like this I’ve spent over the last two years that make me feel lucky to be in field… Read More Yet more fieldwork!